Directions: In a small sauce pan, sweat the onion and jalapeno if using. Add the garlic and cook another twenty seconds. Add beans, cumin and half of the lime juice and stir. Add the water and blend with an immersion blender or in a blender until smooth. Season to taste and keep warm.Grill your Kansas City Strips steak until medium, about four minutes per side. Remove from heat and let rest for five minutes. Slice the steak on a diagonal and season the slices with the lime juice and salt and pepper. Plate on top of the sauce. This is a great sauce since it has absolutely no fat. You can add some butter in the blender to make it a little creamier but if not it is a great, healthy accompaniment.

Delicious beef is a given, but what else are you complementing it with? We’ve got to take advantage of summery favorites at this time of year – things like summer squash, zucchini and corn on the cob.

To die for.

When putting these delicate veggies on the grill, we’ve got to be careful to treat them just right. For instance, cutting the SQUASH into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch thick horizontal slices will ensure they don’t fall through the grill. Start them off in a pan with olive oil, garlic cloves and salt and pepper. Then finish them off on the grill – about 5-10 minutes per side until they’re YOUR desired tenderness. Be sure to brush them occasionally with the oil mixture for great flavor.

Grilled Zucchini Medley

Directions: Cut zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper in matchstick size pieces. On one half of a 22” x 18” sheet of heavy-duty foil, layer vegetables in order listed. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and drizzle with oil. Fold top half of foil over vegetables to meet bottom edge. Grill over hot coals for approximately 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes.

Source: KC Steak Company

For great CORN ON THE COB, remove husks and silk, rinse with cold water and wrap in foil. Place on the grill for about 15-20 minutes until tender, turning occasionally. Create a butter mixture to your taste – add garlic, salt and pepper, Parmesan cheese, parsley – whatever your fancy. Then spread liberally on each ear of corn after grilling. YUM!

Directions:Stir together marinade ingredients and pour over vegetables. Toss to coat. Cover and marinade several hours or overnight. Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes. Put vegetables on skewers and broil 6 inches from source of heat for 10 minutes, turning and brushing occasionally with marinadeServes 8-10 skewers.

Source: KC Steak Company

With these tips and recipes at your fingertips, you CANNOT go wrong at the grillside this summer! Enjoy!

You can obviously just verbally invite folks over but if you do that you don’t have a concrete RSVP list. And that makes food and supplies hard to judge. My advice is good, old-fashioned invitations in the mailbox. Guests can RSVP by e-mail, but go all out and send ’em some paper!

Don’t forget to quench their thirst! Make sure if you’re going to have alcoholic drinks, you also have non-alcoholic drinks. And have lots of water on hand. It’s hot out there!

4. DECORATIONS

You can really give your cookout a special feel if you decorate just for the occasion. Go Hawaiian or decorate with a down-home Southern twist. Really make it special!

5. ENTERTAINMENT

This can be as simple as setting out a game of horseshoes or croquet to play while the food is grilling. Or, even designating a DJ. Just give ’em something to focus on before, during and after the food makes its grand entrance!

If you plan it all out ahead of time, you can just go with the flow and enjoy your friends and family at your cookout. And THAT is what summer’s all about!